Media Release: Waste Management Licence for construction of the GRDM Regional Waste Management Facility extended with 10 years

For immediate release
17 March 2023

An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) with regards to the process of establishing a Regional Waste Management Facility for the Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) was completed during 2012.

Following the finalization of the EIA process, the GRDM was issued with an Environmental Authorisation by the Department of Environmental Affairs & Development Planning (DEA&DP) and a Waste Management Licence (WML) (no. 12/9/11/L1395/9). This was issued by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment (DFFE). The licence was issued to GRDM (Eden DM at the time) on 05 February 2014.

A condition of the WML is that the activity i.e., construction of the Regional Waste Management Facility, is to commence within a period of two (2) years from the date of issue of the WML. Due to the various delays in the establishment of the facility, including the inconclusive Public Private Partnership process that did not come to fruition largely because of the Covid-19 pandemic, GRDM had to apply to DFFE for an extension of the commencement date on a bi-annual basis.  The last approved extension of the commencement date was to expire on 24 May 2023, and another application for an extension of the commencement date was submitted on 07 December 2022.

The WML is only valid for a period of ten (10) years from the date of issue (05 February 2014); meaning the validity period of the WML was to expire on 05 February 2024. Therefore, together with the application for an extension of the commencement date, GRDM further applied for an extension of the validity period of the WML.

Approval of the commencement date was granted for a further two years, and an extension of the validity period of the WML was extended with ten (10) years. The extension was issued by the DFFE on 06 March 2023.

ENDS